The poem follows a girl who is bullied at school and mistakes a boy's attention for kindness. He mocks her in class, then calls her cute, smart and funny once she hands over her homework. She believes him, so she keeps giving him what he wants, and the exchange becomes her daily routine. On the last day of the year he no longer needs her. He walks past without a glance, and she realises she was only ever useful to him.
The mood starts out tense and ordinary, then turns bleak. The short, flat lines make the story feel like a report of events, which makes the ending hit harder. The girl's feelings are loneliness, hope and then heartbreak. Her line about being "just like paper" echoes the paper thrown at her earlier. The poem ends with her death and a note saying she loved him, leaving the reader with grief and anger at how little the boy noticed. The title's discarded flowers suggest something bought cheaply and then thrown away.